Although Malta is generally, there are many small hills and valleys that criss cross the island. These views often allow people to have remarkably good views of the island. And, generally speaking, there are a few meters of top soil before you hit rock, some areas of Malta, especially in the south west, are extremely rocky.

Outside of the cities, most land is cultivated for agricultural purposes. Often, the countryside is terraced, this allows farmers to both clean their fields of stones, which they use to build walls, and have level fields at top of the uneven rocky surface below. The most common wild plant life are shrubs and the most common larger animal life are birds and lizards, aside from domesticated animals, which are usually kept indoors.